Fire, Air, Water and Shadow
by Aria6
Summary: Sequel to Secrets, this is the story of Neo Arcadia and the four Guardians... as well as the Resistance. What will happen? Read and Review!


Note: My Neo Arcadia is a bit different from the games. I think that an island is too limiting, so my Neo Arcadia is set in the Western USA, and part of Canada. The Eastern seaboard and far south have been obliterated by nuclear strikes… essentially, Neo Arcadia is hemmed in by high radiation regions. There are still safe, unclaimed areas however. The Rebellion base is situated in one, and there's a great deal of territory in Canada that Neo Arcadia is aiming to eventually expand into. I'm writing up a timeline and background for my Neo Arcadia… let me know if you think making a chapter out of it would be a good idea. XDD Now, back to the story!

Harpuia laid back, submitting docilely to the scan. As he did, though, he watched the technician performing it. She was a beautiful young woman with dark brown hair, thick and lustrous. It was cut to her shoulders, and he watched the way it swirled around the blinding white fabric of her uniform as she tapped a few buttons on the scanner. She turned her head slightly, and he was suddenly gazing into her eyes. They were a dark brown bordering on black and framed with very long lashes, he noticed. They were also quite expressive as she smiled with good cheer.

"We'll be done in just a moment, General," she assured him, and Harpuia nodded back with a smile.

"Thank you, Rosy." She pinked slightly in pleasure at the fact that he had remembered her name, then smiled again and looked back down at the equipment. Harpuia watched her some more, but brooded as he did… not on her, but her father.

Rosalind Li was the daughter of Councilor Li, one of the richest men in Neo Arcadia… and one of the most irritating, in Harpuia's opinion. He had inherited his wealth from a grandfather who had been a hard, tough bastard more than willing to defend his property from all comers. In the beginning days of Neo Arcadia… the city was barely fifty years old, and it had taken even longer to unify all the towns into one nation… he had held onto his land with viciousness and the loyalty of his followers. Many of whom were still working for his grandson, but had very little contact with him, living happily on his far flung holdings in various parts of the nation. That was probably just as well. Li was a natural bootlicker, a sycophant and a bully rolled into one. He kept the Transportation department running like a machine, but it was no secret that his subordinates were terrified of him. He was a very patriarchal man, in the oldest style of the word, and considered himself the head of his household. That wasn't really an unusual attitude… the troubled, violent times just after the destruction of most society had led to a great deal of social backsliding. But Li took it to extremes… he had been furious when Rosalind had applied to work at HQ as a technician. Harpuia was certain that he had regarded her University education as nothing more than an advanced finishing school, and her technical degrees as just a womanly fancy. After all, what daughter of his would need to work? From the few things Rosy had let drop on the subject, her father believed her place was to get married to a rich boy of a good family, and have plenty of grandchildren.

Rosy had other ideas on her place, and her father had never really accepted that. Harpuia grimaced to himself. He'd put that down to the patriarchal attitude, and hadn't realized that part of it was because Li was simply a bigot. Like all the technicians and workers in HQ, Rosalind Li ultimately answered to him. The thought that any Reploid other than X would have such power over his daughter was intolerable to Li. Harpuia had only realized that because of the debates on the Reploid Bill of Rights. Li was being a thorn in everyone's sides over it. He firmly believed that Reploids were innately inferior, and the Translation project hadn't swayed that belief in the slightest.

_I almost wish I still believed that,_ Harpuia thought sadly, stretching his arm out for Rosy as she asked for it, and she opened a panel to do some maintenance and cleaning. _It made the guilt less._ Drosden's comments on war crimes were still painful. He had always felt sickened, when he remembered the disposal facilities and how he had stood behind X and watched, as all the Reploids lower than C class were retired. Before, he could comfort himself with the thought that they were merely copies of humans… tools that had outlived their usefulness. Now he couldn't, and it hurt.

"Thank you, Rosy." Harpuia said with a smile as the checkup finished, and Rosy smiled back, giving his hand a quick squeeze. It was just a hint of pressure, but it made Harpuia flush slightly. Their eyes met again, green on brown.

"You're welcome, Harpuia," she said softly, a soft tint of pink on her creamy cheeks. Harpuia admired her complexion for a moment… then looked down as he realized what he was doing, and stood up. He had more important things to do than admire a pretty technician. Harpuia almost laughed as he imagined Fefnir's voice, saying, 'really? You do?'

He did have things to do, though. Harpuia walked through the halls, his feet tapping on the matte, finished metal of the floor. He glanced into the main break room… There were several break rooms, but this was the largest on the base and it was used extensively. It showed it, too. The couches had once been fine black leather, but now they were ragged and tatty, punctured in places where Reploid fingers had driven through the fabric. They were due to be replaced, and this time it would be with heavy duty synthetics. The carpet was also due to be replaced… right now it smelled. The chemical yet organic reek of a carpet that had had all kinds of food and drink dropped on it, and been cleaned so many times that cleaning was no longer the answer. Not to mention the large puke stain in the corner. Harpuia didn't even want to think about the party that had led to that. He smiled, though, as he saw the plate of cookies on one of the tables. Harpuia had baked them yesterday, and put them out this morning. They were almost entirely gone, and it was barely midday.

Harpuia shook his head in amusement, and kept walking, casually greeting Umbra on the way. The dark skinned Reploid was dressed up, presumably for a hot date. He looked pretty sexy in black leather, although it wasn't really Harpuia's cup of tea. He was bisexual, but strongly preferred women over men.

_Why am I even thinking about that?_ Harpuia wondered to himself. It wasn't like him to notice the attractiveness of his subordinates. It must have been spillover from Rosy… she did always affect him that way. He shrugged it off, and stepped into his office… then heaved an audible sigh as he saw the mounds of paperwork. He had really been letting that slide lately. It was time to get down to business.

But he had just barely settled in his comfortable chair when something loud and obnoxious slammed open the door.

"Harpuia!" Fefnir grinned widely at him, and Harpuia blinked, slightly alarmed as he spotted the two more slender figures behind the bulky Guardian. Leviathan was grinning at him like a Cheshire cat, and Hook just looked smug. Further behind them… was that _Padrick?_ In street clothes, no less, a leather jacket as brown as his armor but far more stylish. They were all in street clothes. What was going on here? "I told you we'd find him in here!" Fefnir sat on the edge of his desk, making Harpuia wince as several papers drifted to the floor. "What's this obsession you've got with work, Sage? It's the festival!"

_Ah._ Harpuia drew a deep breath, suppressing irritation. The Autumn festival was a yearly holiday for all of Neo Arcadia. Set to fall over the old holiday of Thanksgiving, it was a week long fair and three-day holiday for everyone in the city. Employers were obliged to give each of their employees three days off during the festival, and they usually staggered it so they could keep their businesses running. That also kept the fair grounds from getting too empty or crowded. Normally, Harpuia would certainly have scheduled himself at least one day off to enjoy the quieter attractions of the Autumn festival. But with the constant Council meetings, he was so far behind with his other duties…

"Fefnir, I don't have time for-" Harpuia broke off as someone in full armor pushed his way through the crowd. He blinked as he recognized the warrior, a very handsome male with Native American features. His name was Victor and he was a member of Harpuia's own unit, the Rekku, and should have been out on aerial exercises. Harpuia frowned, noticing the hints of crushed leaves in his burgundy armor and the faint redness on Victor's deeply tanned skin. He'd been flying, clearly, so why was he here? Victor smiled and gave him a smart salute.

"Victor, sir, to take care of your paperwork!" Harpuia stared at him, speechless. That was technically incorrect, but… Victor was competent to handle it, and Harpuia could always go over it later. He blinked, and then looked at his team of Guardians. They were all staring at him.

"Oh… alright." There was no point in arguing. Although… "I do have a party to go to tonight at-" Harpuia stopped as Fefnir pulled out a gold embossed card, delicately painted with East Indian style birds.

"You mean, to Councilor Gil's party? The one she invited all of us to?" Harpuia's eyes widened at that. He hadn't expected Gil to invite all of them back… not after the fiasco during the Spring Festival. Was the woman mad, or just entertained by the spectacle?

The Spring Festival was a twin celebration to the Harvest Festival, set to fall on the old holiday of Easter. And the last one had gone down in Harpuia's little black book of infamy. Councilor Li had two daughters, and as much as he disapproved of Rosy's chosen lifestyle, even he would have admitted that the younger girl was a far worse problem. Tamara Li was even more beautiful than Rosy and known for being a spoiled little rich girl. If there was a thrill available, chemical or physical, then she had probably sampled it. For Councilor Gil's costume party, she had dressed as the Goddess of the Sea and attempted to drown the entire Meikai, starting with the lowest warrior and working her way up to Leviathan herself. And she'd actually managed the last. Harpuia had been amazed and awed, since he knew Levi was not normally into lesbian sex… but then, by that stage of the evening Levi had been fairly drunk.

So, given the orgy in the back rooms, he was amazed Gil would invite them all back. Of course, Tamara was probably NOT invited, and even if she was her daddy would nail her door shut to prevent her attendance. Still…

"I never knew Josephine was such a glutton for punishment," Harpuia said dryly, using Gil's first name. She had asked him to, outside the Council chamber. "Alright, I'll go with you maniacs. But no getting drunk before the party."

"Sage! Would we do something so gauche?" Levi protested mildly, although her wicked grin rather ruined the effect.

"Yes." Harpuia replied, standing up and letting Victor take his seat. "Thanks, Victor." This was outside the flyer's usual duties.

"We brought you some duds, Sage. Here, change in the back." Fefnir tossed him a roll of clothing, and Harpuia caught it neatly, ducking into the bathroom at the rear of his office. He'd always thought it was a rather strange feature to include in a Reploid's office, but he wasn't about to complain. It made a very convenient changing room.

The clothing he unrolled brought a smile to his face. It was his Harvest Festival outfit… black leather pants, tight fitting black shirt, black jacket and a black leather cap that fit neatly over his hair. The cap was embroidered with little oak and maple leaves, and hid his green hair neatly. Nothing much could be done about the green arrows on his cheeks, but they were actually coming into style with the general populace. Technically, markings like that were supposed to denote high-ranking Reploids… but if humans wanted to paint or tattoo their cheeks, what could you do? And for that matter, there were many high-ranking Reploids who didn't have them, like Padrick. Harpuia mentally dismissed the concern, stepping back out.

Eyeing Levi and Fefnir, he wondered if they would fool anyone. They all preferred to go unnoticed at public events like this, but frankly, they were quite noticeable. Levi was wearing her idea of casual wear… creamy slacks and a bright blue blouse embroidered with leaping dolphins on the cuffs. It matched her hair perfectly. Padrick almost matched her in the style category, but Fefnir and Hook really were casual… tatty jeans and strange t-shirts. Hook's was the sort of thing only women can wear… it featured Herself the Elf, a truly ancient cartoon character. Fefnir's was precisely the opposite, something only a man would wear… it had an arrow pointing up, saying "The Man" and another pointing down, saying "The Legend." Harpuia smiled, and suddenly turned to Hook.

"Is it really legendary?" He asked, pointing at Fefnir's shirt. She smiled smugly, then glanced at Levi.

"Levi, would you say an orgasm every time is legendary?"

"Oh hell, yeah!" Levi replied with a grin as Padrick looked faintly embarrassed. Hook slid an arm around Fefnir's waist, and he put an arm around her shoulders with an equally smug smile.

"Then it's a legend." Fefnir chuckled, flattered and pleased. Harpuia shook his head at them both, but smiled.

"More than I really wanted to know… okay, let's go." He was ready, and it had been a long time since he had really taken a day off.

* * *

It was a fine autumn day in the city of Neo Arcadia. Not too cold, not too warm, it was just right for the fairgoers who swarmed the Autumn Festival grounds. The fairgrounds themselves were rustic in style… hay bales were everywhere, and the streetlights had been cosmetically altered to look like torches. Come nighttime, they would be illuminated with a flickering light that mimicked fire. Reploids and humans circulated equally, although most of the stalls were run by Reploids. But it was still a fine display of people just getting along and enjoying themselves.

Although some had other things on their minds.

"I love this time of year. Seriously, I do." A young female Reploid in pink and bright green armor said with a sigh, gazing down on the fairgrounds. She was on the roof of a nearby building, her elbows resting on the railing some thoughtful person had included to keep sightseers safe.

"Mrrff." The male of the trio said, his mouth being full of little deep-fried donuts. They were quick and easy to make, so someone had created a franchise of little trucks that sold them, much like chip trucks. They were out in force for the Autumn Festival. "Yeah, s'great. Best time to be spying ever." He flicked a bit of broken donut off his dark grey and sky blue armor. In addition to the armor, he was wearing old-fashioned aviator goggles… an affection that made no sense, but no one was willing to bother arguing about.

The third member of the trio was a far more typical Resistance member than the other two. Her fine black hair had been cropped into a short cut, barely reaching her chin. Her features were sharp and angular, like a bird of prey, and she wore a jaunty dark red beret as well as a matching cloak to hide her very Resistance style, green armor. She reached up to adjust the blue goggles on her face, as she mentally composed an essay on her companions' habits.

_Travels with the Damned – Part VII. The Common Soldier of the Male Persuasion has shown his faulty grasp of definitions once again. Spying involves sneaking around to find out things other people do not want you to know. It does not involve standing back ten paces to keep from going deaf._ Ciel had called their mission intelligence gathering, but in her opinion it wasn't worthy of the title. They were only in Neo Arcadia to watch the progress of the parliamentary and public debates, and report. Most of their information was shouted at them on street corners, not found through any effort on their part.

"What do you think, Raptor?" The green and pink female asked, turning her head to smile at her darker companion. Raptor blinked, organizing her thoughts as she studied her companions face. She had a very pert little face, with wide gold eyes and matching golden, curling hair. It was a face that hinted at a warm and kind nature, but no great brains.

"I think it's a festival," Raptor said with a one-shoulder shrug. The other girl pouted at that lukewarm answer.

"Don't worry about her, Millie. She's just pissed about being here." The male said, putting an arm around Millie's shoulders. She leaned against him with a sigh.

"Shut up, Ambrose." Raptor said irritably, getting a grin from him. He knew his deduction was very close to the mark. Raptor turned away with a scowl.

It wasn't her fault she had been friends with Shii. And it wasn't her fault people thought of her as arrogant… how was it arrogant, knowing what you could do? She _was_ a genius. She had been designed to be one.

Raptor frowned to herself as she remembered her creation. It had been five years ago, but it seemed like yesterday… She had been built as a daughter substitute for a lonely old man. She even looked like him, with the same sharp edged good looks and fine black hair. He'd never had children and his wife had died in a house fire, but he'd been rich enough to commission a Reploid to meet his needs. His need was for a Reploid just as intelligent as he was, but brand new so that he could mold her. He'd been a true literary genius… his plays were still performed, his books were required reading in several University classes, and some people thought that he would be remembered as a second Shakespeare. Raptor thought he would. His work could catch her mind and heart like nothing else…

He'd taught her everything he knew, and given her his passion for chess. He'd also arranged classes for her in dozens of subjects, to see what she was good at. It had turned out that she was a bit… scattered. Moderately competent at artistic endeavors, facile with words but not enthralled with them, her true passion had been for the martial arts. She had earned black belts in three different styles. Not a particularly marketable skill, however, and when her creator had died she had been sent to the deployment facility.

Raptor ground her teeth together as she thought of that place. The Reploid equivalent of the Unemployment centre, it was far less inviting and friendly than what the humans were used to. A Reploid going in could anticipate being treated like a machine, a cog that needed to be fit into place. There was a dormitory there, for Reploids who had no money but couldn't be helped immediately. Raptor had spent a miserable three days there as they had determined her fate. Her skills weren't particularly useful… all artistic and literary, only basic mathematics… and she had no background in customer service, so they had sent her to be a petty clerk at a small company for a wage that barely got her a place to stay and a meal a day. For someone who had been accustom to living in a cozy bungalow, with lovely furniture and only light cooking and cleaning as her tasks, it had been like slow torture. She had written a book in an attempt to escape, but despite numerous revisions, it had gone unpublished. So when she had heard about the Rebellion, she had embraced it with an open heart. Why shouldn't she have all the rights of humans?

Raptor forcibly turned her thoughts away. Her black belts had been useless in Neo Arcadia, but her predilection for physical fighting had made her useful to the Rebellion. She'd shown a knack for strategy and tactics, as well as the more prosaic arts of shooting straight and making sure the enemy was the one who died. She'd been high in Elpizo's favor… another black mark against her, she was sure. Shii's idiocy had only put the icing on the cake. So she had ended up in Neo Arcadia, on a mission that a raw recruit could have handled. Millie and Ambrose _were_ raw recruits, but thankfully, Raptor had been put in charge. Anything else would have been unendurable.

"Hey, look at him!" Millie had been distracted by her usual thing… an attractive Reploid of the male persuasion. Raptor and Ambrose both glanced down, to see a group going by, chattering and laughing. The one Millie was looking at was slim, boyishly handsome but… mature. Raptor lifted one eyebrow, and opened her mouth to comment, but Ambrose beat her to it.

"Millie, are you NUTS? That's General Harpuia!" Millie went white, and Raptor mentally added a chapter to her travelogue.

_The Common Soldier of the Male Persuasion shows considerably more intelligence and perception than his female counterpart. Surprising but edifying, we will have to monitor this progression further._

"Indeed, it is," Raptor agreed smoothly, and both turned to look at her. They could sense when she was having an interesting thought. "Perhaps we should see what he and the others are up to." With Harpuia in her sights, she'd easily recognized Fefnir and Leviathan. Levi was arguably the easiest, with her brilliant blue hair. Millie and Ambrose exchanged apprehensive glances.

"You mean, follow them? What if they find out?" Millie said uncertainly, and Raptor smiled.

"Then we're fans. Remember to bring that notepad and pen for an autograph, and have your most vapid giggle ready." Millie immediately brightened. Her greatest asset in missions like this was the ability to look like an overenthusiastic ditz. It wasn't too far from the truth, which helped.

"Come on, let's go." If they tarried any longer, the Guardians would be out of sight, and that would be no good at all.


End file.
